Tuesday, February 11, 2014

State Senator Tony Avella of Whitestone, Queens, The City Club of New York, park advocacy groups, and an array of residents and business people neighboring the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, filed suit today to cut off the threat of construction of a 1.4 million square foot shopping mall within the Park.

The complaint alleges that the project cannot proceed without approval by the State Legislature under the “public trust” doctrine that protects all parkland throughout the State against any form of transfer or introduction of non-park uses without consent of the Legislature. It does not appear that any such approval for the shopping center use has been requested or obtained.

The complaint also alleges violations of the City’s Zoning Resolution and Charter, and seeks annulment of approvals granted by the City to date for the related Willets Point plan.

The site is 30.7 acres near the northerly end of the Park. From 1964 to 2006, the site was occupied by Shea Stadium. When Shea was demolished and replaced in 2009 by Citi Field at a location slightly east of the Shea site, the project site became a parking field for visitors to Citi Field. The site has also been used for a variety of public recreational events including foot races, circus performances, an annual wheelchair baseball game, and concerts.

In 2012, Sterling Equities and the Related Companies, both well-known developers, convinced the Bloomberg administration to allow the shopping mall on Park property, although the City Council had approved a plan in 2008 to place the intended retail development in the neighboring Willets Point development project along with affordable housing.

The project has moved forward without the customary public review. There have been no hearings on it before community boards, the Planning Commission, the City Council, or the State Legislature. The Bloomberg administration appears to have acted on the assumption that no public review is required because in 1961 the State Legislature approved construction of Shea Stadium and provision for parking, with wording broad enough, say proponents of the project, to allow replacement with a shopping center. The Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the project on the parking field declares that the parcel is on designated parkland and that legislation permits the shopping mall project. It lists approvals that the City and developers expect to seek, but State legislative approval is not among them.

The contention that the 1961 law exempts this transaction from the public trust doctrine, says John Low-Beer, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, is wrong. “The 1961 law was intended to allow a stadium and uses directly related to a stadium, such as parking, concessions, and other commercial activity typically incidental to a professional sports arena.”

Low-Beer adds that the 1961 law “says nothing about a shopping center. In fact, the Legislature explicitly prohibited any purely commercial uses other than ones strictly related to the stadium, such as concession stands. The public trust doctrine requires that any legislative consent be very specific about what it will allow. If it doesn’t specify a use, then that use is not permitted.”

Senator Tony Avella stated that “Parks are intended to serve the people, to provide open space, landscaping, opportunities for recreation, playgrounds for children, and escape from the hordes and noise of a busy commercial city. The only commercial uses that belong in them are those, such as snack stands, that enhance the park experience. A shopping center is not one of them. We have a wonderful law that is supposed to assure all of this, known as the ‘public trust doctrine.’ I’m outraged when the people who are supposed to administer parks for everyone turn them over to private interests without seeking the State Legislature's consent as the public trust doctrine requires. So, I am very pleased to be a party to this action.”

The plaintiffs include Paul Graziano, Al Centola and Ben Haber who have prominently opposed a spate of recent proposals for new or enlarged sports venues in the Park, as well as the shopping center. The efforts of “Save Flushing Meadows Park,” a coalition of many Queens civic groups put together by Graziano, Centola, Haber and others, thwarted the proposed professional soccer stadium, though it was unable to stop a half-acre expansion of the Tennis Center. They have also led opposition to the shopping center.

20 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Enough of these shopping malls already!!! Queens does not need another one! There's already one right across the Van Wyck and another one a mile down by College Point. Not to mention 3 mega malls in Elmhurst and Rego Park . Traffic, pollution, poor infrastructure...How about the city building a new park there instead?

When politicians (ALL politicians) attach themselves to causes like this, it's all about grandstanding. I didn't see anything in the article about who's paying the bills? Believe me when all is said and done this will cost Avella nothing, it will garner an awful lot of press and photo ops for him and whichever politician needs the exposure. Am I jaded? Yup,they all suck...

Tony Avella was asked to be a plaintiff on the lawsuit for standing purposes. He didn't say let's file a lawsuit and persuade everyone else to join him. The lawsuit is being funded by donations. If you want to do something useful besides complain, make a donation to City Club's lawsuit fund. click to donate

This mall is a joke. About a mile down Roosevelt Ave. on the old Con Ed site is a disaster of a mall, Skyview, across from the Bland Houses, and now the some of the politicians and developers want a twin disaster on park land.

Soon Skyview will look like the Metro Mall in Middle Village, another disaster that attracts thieving shoplifters and hustlers trying to help you with packages while attempting to take your wallet or pocketbook.

Let parkland remain parkland. If the Wilpon's and their partners can't make the Met's into a respectable baseball team imagine what their mall will become?

That just tells me he knows an opportunity for a series of photo ops when it's plopped on his desk. I believe Avella's heart is in the right place, but it IS an election year for him. Take everything politicians say and do with a shaker of salt. Their first job is to stay in office...

I've found Avella to be responsive and proactive whether or not it's an election year. Some people just want something to be pissed off about. And I would rather see results - like the copy of the lawsuit presented here - than a couple of lines about the park on a website. But I tend to think outside the "Queens syndrome" box.

The will tell Paul and Avella to "stick it" because big money talks. What they need to do is get the major news media and feds in here.This special interest, corruption and payola is running like a downhill freight train with no brakes.Meanwhile another "happy ending" joint just opened up across the Harvest buffet in Little Neck.

The will tell Paul and Avella to "stick it" because big money talks. What they need to do is get the major news media and feds in here.This special interest, corruption and payola is running like a downhill freight train with no brakes.Meanwhile another "happy ending" joint just opened up across the Harvest buffet in Little Neck.

Big money talks, but this is proposed mall is bullshit...and bullshit walks.

Besides, there are plenty of examples throughout recent history where Goliath was taken down by David, particularly for environmental or park violations: Westway; the giant amphitheater in south Brooklyn; and Fort Totten, just to name a few.

there have been various reports lately from about the future irrelevance of shopping malls so this development is stupid from the get-go

As for T.A.,I admire this guy,who is truly part of the one percent of honest elected officials in this cesspool call NYC.If voters were more knowledgeable,do a little research instead of relying on the print and media,this man would be mayor instead of dropping out because of lack of funds.

as for example of a useless mall,anybody been to atlas gardens lately?

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